Omagh bombing informer recieves death threats

A Special Branch informer at the heart of the major public row between Northern Ireland’s chief constable and the Police Ombudsman over the Omagh bombing is under death threat.

Several bullets have been sent to the man who is known only under the alias Kevin Fulton.

He is seeking permission to carry a gun to protect himself and in the High Court in Belfast today he sought a judicial review of Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s failure, to date, to grant him a firearm licence.

Mr Justice Brian Kerr rejected the application as premature on the grounds that a final decision had not yet been taken by the Chief Constable.

The application was heard under the pseudonym X, with the agreement of the judge, to prevent the real name of ‘‘Kevin Fulton’’ becoming known.

Fulton claimed that he passed on information to Special Branch three days before the Omagh bombing that dissident republicans were making a bomb in the Republic which was to be transported to Northern Ireland.

His information did not specify Omagh as the target but led to the inquiry by Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan into police handing of the atrocity.

Published last week the inquiry report was damning of Sir Ronnie.

He has rejected assertions made in the report and is due to make a formal rebuttal in the New Year.

He had a face-to-face meeting with Mrs O’Loan earlier this week.